Instead of writing out by hand traffic tickets to drivers for infractions, police plan to roll out electronic tickets. The aim is to save time and cash, said officials.
"The studies were 14 minutes, generally, for a handwritten ticket down to six or seven minutes for an e-ticket, an electronic ticket," said Insp. Mark LeMaistre of the RCMP.
Under the plan, officers will be able to process traffic tickets inside their cruiser cars by scanning drivers' licenses on a computer. Police will then be able to make a print out of the ticket for the driver, along with electronically sending a copy to the courts within minutes.
A goal of the program is to cut down on mistakes such as spelling errors and poor handwriting that could potentially have citations thrown out of court.
A former police officer said the system will mean more tickets for drivers.
"It's a big negative for the public," said Len Eastoe from Traffic Ticket Experts.
"The officers give very few breaks to people. It's just pound off the numbers so that you hand out as many tickets in a day as an officer can. This will definitely speed that up," said Eastoe.
Drivers who spoke to CTV News on Monday were mixed about plans for the new system.
"If you like to fight your ticket that (system) might also affect that, which wouldn't be good because lots of tickets are fight-able and win-able," said Justin Gagne.
"There's probably two sides to the same coin…I'm sure they're enjoying getting more tax dollars but if it's going to provide them less hassle then maybe it'll actually get out there and (let police) do some good," said Cam McFee.
Winnipeg police said being able to hand out more tickets would be an added benefit, but is not the motivation behind the proposed change.
Under the current system, when an officer issues a ticket, a data entry clerk later has to enter the information into a computer and then send a copy to the courts, which can take weeks. With the proposed new system, the electronic ticket would eliminate the extra work because information would be immediately entered when the ticket is issued.
RCMP in Nova Scotia plan to launch a pilot project e-ticket system this fall.
Officials said the system could be rolled out to RCMP members across the country by April 1, 2012.
Winnipeg police, meanwhile, are waiting for the manufacturer of the system used in e-tickets to make it compatible with the Law Courts and other agencies that need to be connected. That process could take months, or longer, before Winnipeg police would be able to switch over to the system.
- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
